Aerie and Haer'Dalis watched the silent common room to the inn at their corner table. "Not the revelry we have witnessed in past centers of revelry, eh, my dove?" The bard sipped at his drink while Aerie nursed a cup of tea.
"This entire town seems quiet, Haer'Dalis. It-it's like they've lost all joy in their lives. I can feel the tension wherever I go."
Haer'Dalis grinned and raised his eyebrows. "Such troubles are child's play to a seasoned company of heroes such as ourselves, though. I have no doubt our glorious raven will have matters settled here before we realize it."
Aerie looked down at her cup with a frown. "If she recovers…"
"Now is not the time to be dwelling in dark places, my dove. We should celebrate escaping the confines of the earth and our miraculous reemergence into sunlight. I know the Underdark hit you hardest." He gripped her hand and smiled, eliciting a smile in return.
"You're right, my bard, I'm sorry. I just can't help but worry for Aenwyn's health. We don't even know what fully happened back at Spellhold, but if we don't find a way to help her soon, I don't think she will survive."
"Then it is up to us to cure the wounded raven! Come, we shall scour the countryside for the perfect balm for a broken wing. We will arrive at the last moment with panacea and bring the curtain down on this debacle-turned-happy ending." He tilted her head up and met her eyes.
The avariel smiled again, but this time the effort was more evident. "I only wish it were so easy, my bard."
As the pair sat in the downstairs, Aenwyn lay in her bed on the second floor with a worried Branwen hovering over her. The young half-elf thrashed in the sweat-soaked bed sheets, and Branwen's healing spells did little for the fever which racked the Bhaalspawn's body.
"By Tempus' shield, I will flay that monster alive, and his sister," she muttered, soothing her leader's brow. Aenwyn had collapsed two days ago upon their arrival at Trademeet and hadn't left her bed since. Upon emerging from the Underdark, the party had staggered to the trading town instead of Athkatla. Valygar was familiar with the area and thought it would be safer than exposure to the larger city, at least for the moment. With Bhodi and Irenicus' escape from Spellhold, there was no telling what would greet them in the capital. The more secluded Trademeet would provide them with more protection, or so was the hope.
But the mood in the town had been surreptitiously grim and it wasn't long before the group realized their destination might not have been the best choice. Before they could move, however, Aenwyn had collapsed.
'It is the strain of losing her soul,' Branwen thought. Her leader had pulled herself together after the experiments she had faced for a second time with only minor catastrophe, even confronted with her dead sister's body upon arrival to the asylum. Grief had not outweighed the Bhaalspawn's drive to escape and wreak vengeance on the mage and vampire. The group had managed to survive Spellhold and a quick journey through the Underdark, but Aenwyn's health had constantly deteriorated. Now, the strain had finally caught up to her, and her body was following its soul's departure into decay.
Branwen was no expert on healing; she had always focused more on Tempus' discipline of war and left healing to Aerie or the treacherous Viconia before the drow's escape, but even she knew that the only was for Aenwyn to recover was to retrieve her soul. Otherwise the woman would soon wither to nothing. "I only pray we have enough time to reclaim it," Branwen whispered. She kissed the woman's forehead gently and got up to change her leader's sweaty clothes. Aenwyn meant more to her now than anything else in her life. Not since Shar-Teel's death had she felt so close to a person or worried for another's wellbeing. She didn't know what she would do if her friend died.
Downstairs, the couple sat with their drinks. They had found less and less to talk about as the days continued. Where once they had rehearsed plays and exchanged poems now lay a barrier of silence. Aerie considered this as she drank her tea. She could excuse the silence for her concern over Aenwyn and the group's trials of the Underdark, but that excuse only worked for so long. Not once since leaving Athkatla had she come to Haer'Dalis' arms for comfort or words of advice. His cheerful smiles had rung false to her in the depths of Spellhold, and she was beginning to see that his professed enthusiasm for whatever adventure he found himself in was a screen against his deeper thoughts and emotions. Whatever truth lay under his demeanor Aerie had not once seen, and her trust in him was beginning to crumble.
Staring at the avariel, Haer'Dalis mourned the inevitable loss of Aerie, but found only resignation within. He had enjoyed her light while he could, but he had always known that it would not last forever. By this point, they were more close friends than lovers, which was more than he could say for many of his past partners. He had enjoyed seeing her blossom from a frightened circus girl to a strong young woman, but he knew that he could have no place in this new woman's life. He had been there to shelter her, but now she needed sunlight, not a tree to shield the rays.
He opened his mouth but before he could say anything, their missing companions entered the room. Haer'Dalis and Aerie stood as Anomen and Valygar joined their table. "Any news?" Aerie asked.
Anomen nodded as they all sat down. "The Order reports that Bhodi has indeed returned to her crypts below the city with a new guild of vampires. If we wish to find the path to Irenicus, we will have to descend into the vampire's den."
Valygar added, "We managed to obtain some help from the Order, but the city is caught in a war between the Shadow Thieves and practically everyone else. Once we defeated the vampires, the Order and city watch converged on what was left of the Thieves in an effort to rid the city of them once and for all. Most available fighters are too deep in the conflict to be of much use to us."
"Then 'twould seem asking the Shadow Thieves for aid is an equally fruitless endeavor," the bard mused.
Valygar scowled. "Even if the Thieves weren't busy I would hesitate to draw upon their resources more than we already have, tiefling."
Haer'Dalis recoiled with a smirk. "My, my, has your time in this ill-conceived company clouded your morals, dark hawk? Trying to appease a guilty conscience, are we? I seem to recall you had no such reservations when the Shadow Thieves provided us a path to the 'damned wizard' as I believe you so eloquently stated."
Anomen frowned. "Enough. There is no point arguing this, although I agree with Valygar. The less contact we have with those scoundrels, the better. Events would have it that we have no choice, in any event. Sir Keldorn of the Order has promised to help us when we are ready to face the loathsome undead, as has our friend, Sir Ajantis."
They had encountered Ajantis in the Windspear Hills under an illusion as a wild monster, the same as he had perceived them. He and a company of knights had been part of a ploy set by the red dragon Firkraag against Aenwyn; luckily for the group they had recognized the illusion for what it was and prevented tragic blood loss. In gratitude, he had helped defeat the dragon and taken the powerful Carsomyr back to the Order along with his praise of the group.
"Who is Sir Keldorn?" Aerie asked, stepping between Haer'Dalis and Valygar.
Anomen brightened. "One of the most accomplished paladins the Order has ever seen. He has plenty of experience to draw upon and will no doubt be a valuable ally."
"What he means," Valygar added dryly, "is that he is so old the Order can expend him without endangering their crusade."
Anomen turned on the ranger. "Sir Keldorn is one of the finest knights I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, Valygar, and I would appreciate it if you treated him with more respect. He is one of the oldest paladins in recent memory, but I can assure you he is still as effective a warrior as any newly-appointed paladin."
Haer'Dalis let out a chuckle. "The aging hound has bested you in duals, has he, Squire Anomen?"
Anomen's face darkened for a moment, but he grit his teeth and closed his eyes before speaking. "I have proven my worth to this group through combat more than you, bard, and will remind you that I am no squire. You should be grateful the Order sends anyone to aid us after the various troubles we have caused throughout Amn."
"B-but most of that wasn't our fault!" Aerie interjected. "We've done a lot of good, as well!"
Anomen's face softened. "You are right, my lady. I did not mean to cause alarm. It seems our group has a tendency to attract trouble, but we have accomplished much in the name of righteousness as well."
"Speaking of trouble," Valygar said, pointing as the innkeeper walked over with a worried expression. Everyone tensed, hands unconsciously moving to weapons as the man walked over.
The man smiled weakly and inquired as to the group's accommodations before revealing his purpose. "I haven't been snooping around, no sir, but it's come to my attention that you good folk seem to have a reputation around these parts." He held up his hands as worried glances spread round the table. "Nothing bad, not to worry. We've just heard about your deeds up in Imnesvale and thought you might be able to deal with a little problem we've been having here."
"So then it is not just a case of warm ale which dampens your spirits," Haer'Dalis said.
The barkeep gave the tiefling an odd look before continuing. "As you must have noticed, Trademeet isn't the bustling city it normally is. There have been some…disturbances recently."
"Can you tell us the nature of these disturbances?" Valygar asked quietly.
The man wrung his hands. "It would be better for you to talk to our mayor, I think. He could explain it better to you."
After agreeing to speak to the mayor, the group was left in peace. "We should help these people," Aerie said as she stared down at her cup. "If we can help, we must."
"And Aenwyn?" Anomen asked. "We do not know how much time we can spend before…" He broke off uncomfortably.
"We have to look at this logically, Aerie," the ranger added. "Maybe once we help Aenwyn we can return here and see what needs to be done."
"But we agreed to help the town!" Aerie said, eyes wide. "If we're not going to help, we shouldn't have lied to that man."
"Sometimes it's best to avoid conflict with little white lies," Valygar said. "If we didn't agree to help, I don't know how welcome we would have been for the rest of our stay."
"And we could indeed give aid once we deal with Irenicus," Anomen offered.
"We can't ignore an entire city's problems if there's anything we can do to help!" the elf exclaimed. She raised her head from where it had been staring into the empty cup and met Anomen's eye. "You just admitted that we can do great things and now you turn around and insist on a selfish course of action?"
"Lady Aenwyn's life is no selfish cause," Anomen retorted, leaning across the table. "Her life is in danger and you want to ignore that for the worries of a few frightened peasants."
Aerie scoffed. "You think that if you're the one to save Aenwyn, she'll change her mind and love you. Well, it's not going to happen, nothing's going to change between you two! And you're not the only one who cares what happens to her, so don't pretend the rest of us are secondary. You've ignored the rest of us since she smiled in your direction!" There were tears in Aerie's eyes as she stood. "You can all be so cruel, sometimes!" She ran up the stairs before anyone could speak.